Discussion Board

Hi everyone,

My name is Robin, and I am new to this board. I have been overweight nearly all of my adult life, but several years ago I reached my all-time highest weight of 250 lbs. I was so freaked out by that number that I found the nearest Weight Watchers meeting and signed up right away! I lost weight on WW, but I also started reading about general nutrition and felt a real disconnect between what I was reading and the meeting discussions, which always seemed to focus on junk food (Pirate's Booty, anyone?). I started to learn about things like "nutrient density" and began to shift to a more whole-foods diet. That eventually led to going vegetarian. Then I read Fast Food Nation and went immediately vegan! I drifted away from WW and continued eating plant foods and lost about 75 pounds.

HOWEVER...

Life happened, and convenience foods began to creep back into my diet. I stopped losing weight, but that didn't bother me too much because I felt so much better than I had, could fit into "regular" sizes for the first time in decades, and figured I could just get disciplined again about my food choices whenever I wanted. Then a couple of years ago I lost my job and ended up going back to school to train for another line of work. More convenience foods, fast foods, cheese and dairy creeping back in, basically the SAD minus the meat. When I had my first wake-up call at 250#, I promised myself that I would never let my weight climb into the 200s again. I knew the pounds were creeping back on, but last week I got on the scale (for the first time in months) and saw 199.5. EEEK!

So here I am for encouragement and accountability. I've read enough McDougall and Esselstyn and Furhman to know what to do, but it sure is a lot easier to not do it alone. I look forward to getting to know you, and I hope that I will be able to be an encouragement to some of you as well.

Cheers!
Robin

Welcome! I am one of the "newbies" having done this for only 7 months now...it's the best thing I did in getting my health back. I just started the MWL WOE and it is the best changeover for me since i was stalling on the regular WOE...now I am losing again as you will soon...

Welcome Robin, you are in the right place.
Take a look at the Star McDougall area for inspiration.
Riva

Thanks for the welcomes and the suggestion -- I haven't checked out that area yet!

Robin

Hi Robin: I am a newbie too, just a few months. I am also a Bay Area person; Peninsula for me, though I have family in Fremont too

I love this WOE and have some of the same nutrition reference books that got you here too

My big hint is add to your library and get a DVD - you'll hear this often around here - buy Jeff Novick's Fast Food DVD. It tells you how to stock your pantry and fridge for doing 10 minute meals. Then he demonstrates his core meals, including breakfasts and desserts.

He made up a series of meal menus while he was working, in grad school and feeding his daughter too - so these had to be fast tasty meals. Before going back to school in nutrition he had a culinary degree and worked in Colorado restaurants - he knows cooking and yummy

I just saw Jim's post on that Sushi place in Palo Alto - and looked it up immediately. I am in that neighborhood like every week on errands and I would have never found this hole in the wall. But I gonna soon, I am sure Jim is right about it being good, but I'll add my review to his and let you know!

Glad you're here too because there is plenty of good information, good support and good food to help you get started. No doubt you'll meet your weight loss goals and get really healthy in the meantime just like so many others before us.

Good luck - Michelle

Welcome aboard, Robin! I was once in the 1/8 of a ton club and I have found the help here I need to manage may weight well.

Use the great resources here, share what you know and let us know how you do!

Thanks, everyone!

Giddyupgin and Pinkrose, it is great to see your progress and know that I will be following in your footsteps.

Riva, you are so right -- the Star McDougallers area is not only inspiring but full of great information. Thanks!

lmggallagher, most of my friends, my church, and my husband's work are all on the Peninsula, so you can bet we spend a lot of time over there. I am looking forward to trying that sushi place, but I wanted to ask if you had found any other McDougall-friendly restaurants that you could recommend. TIA!

Quinoamania,

Welcome! Also Bay Area, in San Jose.

For restaurants, my neighborhood Chinese has brown rice and I ask them to saute in water, instead of oil. This works at most made to order Asian restaurants.

Like you, I changed vegetarian in steps before McDougall, and saw some waist and weight loss. Had been thin, so not so much. In my experience being heavy can be better, as your body gives you a health warning. My partner, who was petite, got cancer with almost no warning.

Yummy McDougall food is now my hobby. My big tip is watch calorie density. Besides your main starch, salads, soups, stews and sauces are your friends.


Surprised me to learn that 30% of SAD is dairy, and only 10% is meat. So of 40% that is animal based, 3/4 is dairy. And that dairy is almost 1/3 of everything we eat.
http://news.yahoo.com/americans-ton-eating-habit-numbers-130000705.html

Hi Robin: So far I have only tried Loving Hut and Garden Fresh both in Palo Alto. Loving Hut does have completely McDougall offerings, but you have to really find out what's in the menu items. Garden fresh relies on tofu and oil, so it's not McDougall, but I go there with friends as a compromise - and I have never had a friend be disappointed eating vegan there.

I have just found a few new restaurants to try out, I'll let you know how they go. If I find a really good one - maybe we could meet there sometime, to celebrate being McDougaller's !!!!

Wow, those numbers are kind of mind-boggling! Thanks for the link. Dairy is in everything it seems -- I picked up a deli cucumber salad at Costco once; it looked like the usual sliced cukes in seasoned vinegar type of thing, but when I read the ingredients I saw that it contained milk. REALLY?!? Milk in cucumber salad? Sheesh. Of course, moving to whole foods and away from prepared foods is taking care of that problem rather nicely.

Hi Michelle,

Hubby and I have been regulars at Garden Fresh for a long time, though mostly the one in Mountain View. Definitely yummy, but definitely not McDougall, so I won't be so regular now. Thanks for letting me know about Loving Hut, though. That's on University a couple of blocks from El Camino, right? I have walked by one of their mall locations but the menu on the sign outside the shop always shows tempura-style food, so it is good to know they offer other options.

I would love to meet up some time! I'm always up for a celebration or making a new friend.

Hey Robin:

Sorry I didn't jump right back on your post, well, I have been on the mend as you know and on pain killers. Probably best I didn't post to much during that phase!

Anyway, no kidding, absolutely we must do food out or whatever. I would love to meet up!!! The PJ ASW party would be best, but truly between me and the cats and the laptop there isn't enough room even for that, hahaha.

I have some new items for my growing list of restaurants. Lyfe sounds really good, check it out too online

Got to run to swimming - until later eat well - Michelle

No prob -- I knew you were dealing with a lot and working on feeling better!

I know exactly what you mean - we don't have a TV so we watch Hulu on a laptop on the bed. The main difference is that we have a BIG geriatric dog instead of cats, lol. (Not to be confused with lolcats, of course!)

Anyway, LYFE looked really interesting, probably a great place to go with non-vegan or non-McDougall friends, but a McDougaller would have to choose carefully. I can't remember if you are doing the regular plan or MWL, but a couple of the salads would work even for MWL if you ask them to hold the nuts and dressing, for example. The photos are beautiful!

Definitely let's plan a date whenever you are up for it. For the next couple of weeks I will be available MWF late mornings/early afternoons; once April starts, I will have MW classes but Fridays will still (usually) be available.

Hope you have a great swim session!

Robin